


Out of the Dark - Katherine Howard

by jane_fucking_seymour



Series: Out of the Dark [2]
Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Angst, Family, Fluff, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2020-03-09 02:25:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18907618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jane_fucking_seymour/pseuds/jane_fucking_seymour
Summary: (Read "Out of the Dark - Jane Seymour" first to understand the story.) Part 2 of 6. Saving them was the easiest decision Katherine Howard's made. Living with the fallout of the decision proves to be a bit harder. Still, if they notice, they might be able to save her...





	1. Get Down

**** It had been three days since the Darkness released Jane and the others.

Everyone was in different stages of recovery: Jane had barely been able to stay awake for a full day, and even then she barely had energy at all. Parr was second closest to burning out, though she often pushed herself to the limits to make sure the others were okay. Boleyn was… quiet. Very quiet. She took more time to herself, kept herself a bit more closed off than normal.

Aragon and Cleves spent a bit more time together, checking in with each other and making sure they were both okay.

Katherine Howard, however, barely seemed to break a sweat.

Howard was the quickest to recover from the Darkness, even quicker than Aragon and Cleves, who had only seen what the Darkness could do through Parr and Boleyn’s nightmares.

She had taken over the duties of “house mom” while Jane was recovering, waking up early to make breakfast and checking in on everyone else. She never seemed to run out of energy and was surprisingly well tuned to each of the Queen’s needs, always having the exact right thing to say or the exact thing they needed to keep them going.

It was due to this that no one suspected anything wrong with Katherine Howard.

That, of course, was not true; she was in pain. A lot of it. But the Darkness within her - the Contract she signed to release all of them - it required this. If she wasn’t in pain, they wouldn’t be back, so she stayed silent.

Jane, despite her weakened state, is the first to ask questions.

“Love?” She asks quietly, moving a bit awkwardly on the bed. She’s been in bed since the thing happened, only coming up and out of it to attempt to convince the others that she could perform that night. She has yet to be convincing.

“How are you feeling?” Katherine asks, smiling brightly down at her mother. Jane swallows.

“Kat, something’s been bothering me since… you know,” Jane says, looking over weakly. “The last part, the one where you had the… you said Trials, right?”

“Yeah,” Katherine confirms. “To get you back.” She smiles and smooths out Jane’s hair.

Jane leans into the touch contently, but then focuses back on her daughter.

“Everyone else seems to remember their time in… whatever that was-”

“The Darkness,” Katherine says confidently. “It’s the Darkness. Boleyn and Parr were in the Nightmares, you were in the Darkness.”

Jane blinks, but slowly nods; made sense to her, she supposes.

“When I was there… everyone remembers everything. Why don’t I remember when you saved me?”

Katherine frowns. “I wouldn’t know, mum. I’m sorry,” she says, sighing. “I wish I could tell you.”

It’s double-meaning, but Jane doesn’t pick up on it.

“That’s alright. I was just… curious, I guess. Wary, I think’s a better word for it,” Jane mumbles, eyelids slowly closing. “Make sure the others…” a yawn. “… are okay, please…”

She fades off, asleep.

“She’s not doing too well, is she?”

Katherine looks up to see Parr there. Kat shakes her head.

“Not yet. It takes a few weeks to really recover, but I think she’ll have a lot more energy tomorrow.”

Parr raises an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”

Katherine blinks, then looks over at Parr with eyes as black as night. “Say what?”

Parr blinks rapidly before she frowns, brow scrunching together. “… what were we talking about?”

“Jane’s condition,” Katherine replies, looking back at Jane.

“Oh, right,” Parr says, shaking her head. She must still be tired.

“She’s not doing too well, is she?”

“She’ll get better, I’m sure of it,” Katherine replies. “We’ve been taking care of her for as much as we can.”

“I know,” Parr says, assuming Katherine means the entire family. “But I can’t help but worry.”

Parr yawns.

“You should get some rest, Cat,” Katherine says. “We’ve got shows tomorrow. Are you well enough to go on?”

“I think so,” Parr nods. “I’ll have to check tomorrow, to be perfectly honest.”

Katherine nods and smiles. “Sounds like a plan.”

Parr retires to her room. Katherine keeps Jane close.

The next morning, Jane is in fact feeling a lot better. She’s the one to get breakfast ready to go that morning, she’s the one who goes back to her normal routine. Katherine is still asleep, but that’s normal - the  _ usual _ normal.

The rest of the group assembles eventually and things start to return to normal.

The rest of the week goes off without a hitch.

At the end of the last show of the week, the girls decide against a celebration. Parr and Boleyn clearly needed some more rest, as did Jane. That left Aragon, Cleves and Howard.

Cleves says she’ll be back late that night; nothing unusual on that front. Aragon goes to read her Bible in her room, it being read way more often recently.

To everyone’s surprise, however, Howard has also said that she’s headed out for the night.

“Really?” Parr asks, walking with her towards the door.

“Alone?” Jane asks, right behind Parr.

Boleyn looks up from her phone, silently watching the scene unfold.

“Yeah, I’ll be gone for a bit, but I’ll be back in the morning,” Katherine says with a short smile. She’s wearing comfortable clothing, as if she’s headed out for a run. She’s got her gym bag as well.

“Where are you going?” Jane asks, tilting her head.

“Just… out, mum, jeez,” she mumbles, rolling her eyes. “I want to practice a few of the dances. I felt… out of practice. I rented out a dance studio for the night.”

Parr raises an eyebrow. “Without telling any of us?”

Katherine sighs. “I just… I didn’t want to make anyone upset. And, to be honest… I just didn’t want you guys to know.” Howard looks like she’s about to cry. “I just… I really don’t want to bother anyone, you know? And it’s been forever since I’ve been able to do the dances confidently, especially after the past week and I just-”

“It’s alright, darling,” Jane says, giving her a soft smile. “I’m sorry, we don’t mean to pry. Good luck on the practice.” 

Parr looks like she’s going to argue, but a look from Katherine stops her. “Yeah… good luck, Kat.” She gently grabs Kat’s hand, looking her in the eyes. “And if there’s…  _ anything _ , at all, that we can do to help, you just let us know, okay?”

Howard smiles and nods. “Of course.”

Parr and Seymour look at each other worriedly while Boleyn just goes back to her phone.

“Do you know anything about that, Anne-?” Jane asks, but the girl quickly retreats to her bedroom. Jane sighs.

“We’ve all got our ways of coping, Jane,” Parr says. “She’ll be okay.”

Meanwhile, Katherine drives down the street before she pulls over.

She’s not headed to a studio.

She’s pretty sure the others don’t believe her, but that doesn’t matter right now.

She gets into the car, opening the bag - it’s a change of clothes. She’s quick to get dressed inside the car. It’s a night out sort of outfit. It’ll work for tonight.

Katherine smiles as she walks up to the club, giving the bouncer a short wave. Just as he’s about to ask for ID, he jolts to a stop and lets her in.

The room is full of energy, of people, of loud music and bright lights. Normally, this was a place Katherine would have paid to leave immediately. 

Right now, she’s thriving in it.

She goes to get a drink - the bartender gives her top shelf liquor for free, for an odd reason the bartender herself can’t explain. Katherine winks and nods at her in approval before moving towards the side of the bar. She’s scoping out the dancers, trying to find a target.

She sees a guy clearly trying to harass a woman on the dance floor; he’ll do. He’ll definitely do.

Just as Katherine goes to take a sip of her drink to prepare herself for what she had planned next, an experienced hand plucks the vodka cranberry out of Kat’s own, drinking it instead.

“You really don’t have great taste in alcohol, Kat.”

She looks up in surprise.

“Anna!”

Anna of Cleves looks down at the girl with an unamused look.

“You have some explaining to do.”

 


	2. You Should Try To Get Ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anne Boleyn has always been clever, but now she might be too clever for her own good.

**** Cleves had no idea that she was going to see the youngest Katherine at the club.

It’s a weird sentence because she never expected to hear the words “Katherine Howard” and “club” in the same sentence without some sort of negative word in there. And yet, as Anna had looked out on the dance floor, the girl had caught her eye almost immediately.

She’s allowed to be there, of course: she’s 19, a full adult in the eyes of the law. And yet, something about this whole situation was deeply unsettling.

After the events of the past week, Cleves can’t help but think the two are related.

She looks expectantly down at the woman, who looks a bit embarrassed. Cleves has brought Howard into the VIP section and sat her down to try to figure out what was going on.

“Well?” Cleves asks, raising an eyebrow. She expects answers.

Katherine supplies.

“I just… I dunno,” Kat looks down at her hands, playing with them. “I just wanted…. to see how it was. To see what I was missing.”

Cleves nods, but that’s just to make sure Katherine knew she was listening. Katherine continues.

“I don’t like this place - of course I don’t - but… the energy here. It’s incredible,” Howard sips on her vodka cranberry.

It’s still such an incredibly weird sight for Cleves.

“And you thought the week after everything goes down is the perfect time to start acting out of character?” Cleves asks. “That’s a bit of a risk, Kat.”

“Well, when else could I take a risk?” Katherine asks, annoyed. “We all almost died then. I had to watch everyone get…” she leans in and whispers it, “ _ possessed _ , or tied up, or whatever. I had to face the thing in Jane alone. At this point… I just said fuck it, you know? Because who knows if I’ll ever have the chance again.”

Cleves frowns then, a bit more sympathetic.

“Does Jane know you’re here?” Katherine shakes her head. “Or Parr? Boleyn, Aragon?”

“No, none of them do,” Katherine replies. “For this exact reason. I don’t want questions. I just… I want to try some stuff out. See if I like it.”

“Given your past experiences… wouldn’t it have been a bit safer for you to have come with someone?” Cleves asks softly. She’s not trying to judge, she’s just worried about the girl’s safety. “You could have told me and I would have taken you-“

“- and everyone else would have followed,” Katherine points out. “That’s how our little group works. It happened with the museum, and breakfast, and anything anyone suggests. I just… I didn’t want everyone around.” Then, a smirk. “Besides, Jane would be embarsssing on the dance floor.”

That makes Cleves laugh. She regards the girl for a moment before sighing.

“Alright, well…” Cleves says. “You’re free to do what you want, of course. But I want to keep an eye on you, if you don’t mind. If things go bad or whatever, just grab me.”

Katherine raises an eyebrow. “Just like that?”

“Just like that,” Cleves confirms. “If you’re serious about this… rebellious, phase, at least do it safely.”

Katherine chuckled, taking another sip of the drink. “You know, you’re easily the most level headed of the group, Cleves. Jane wouldn’t have let me do this, and Parr would have been fifteen minutes into a monologue right now.”

“Eh, they mean well,” Cleves says.

“But at what cost, you know?” Howard asks. “They’re… overbearing.”

Cleves looks at the girl a bit more serious.

“Oh, really?”

Howard shrugs. “Just… about these situations.” She thinks for a moment before her eyes go wide.

“Wait, are you going to tell them?”

“No,” Cleves promises. “You’re fine… as long as you are safe. If you get yourself into trouble tonight, I’d likely have no choice.”

Katherine nods. “Thank you, Cleves.”

Cleves just nods.

“Go on, then. Go have some fun. When you’re ready to leave, just let me know.”

Katherine nods, downs the drink and moves away, down the stairs to exit the VIP area and get back into the dance floor.

Cleves leans over the balcony, enjoying the view while also keeping a very close eye on Howard.

Her eyes narrow slightly when she sees the girl dancing with a group consisting of three girls and a guy. This isn’t adding up.

Later, when they’ve started to head home, Cleves can’t help but ask.

“You seemed to have a lot of fun,” Cleves said. “I’m a bit surprised, honestly.”

“I needed a break,” Katherine easily defends herself. “It was… an incredible experience.”

“Yeah? Well, I might have to take you out more often, Howard,” Cleves quips.

Katherine smiles. “I’d like that, Cleves. I’d like that a lot.”

They’re silent for a moment, Cleves driving - she had stopped drinking when she saw Kat and only had a drink within the five hours they were there while Kat had a few more - before Cleves breaks the silence.

“You know they’ll be awake, right?” Cleves asks. “They’ll be waiting.”

“I know,” Katherine says. “But it’s alright. They’ll be out like a light, I think. There’s no way Parr and Seymour would be up this late after the last week.

Sure enough, Katherine is correct - when they enter, the two find Seymour asleep, head in Parr’s lap. Parr herself had her head back, body lax against the couch, also dead to the world.

Cleves chuckles. “Let’s get them to bed.”

Jane is the first to be awoken, groggily looking up at Katherine.

“There you are, love,” Jane mumbles. “I wanted… to stay up, to make sure you were okay.”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Katherine says softly, gently smoothing our Jane’s hair. “Come on. I’ll get into pijamas and we’ll cuddle.”

Cleves gently wakes up Parr, who is a bit more awake when she finally comes to. She frowns, looking st Howard.

“Where have you been?” She asks.

Howard frowns, but Cleves covers.

“She was with me,” Cleves explains. “We just went out to eat dinner, walk around the city.”

Parr blinks; something about that seems… off. It felt like Cleves was covering for Kat, but in her tired state, Parr couldn’t really connect the dots.

So she just nods.

The four move to the hallway, where Cleves retires. Parr does as well. Jane tries to wait for Katherine to get ready for bed, she really does, but when Kath comes in after changing, Jane’s already asleep on the bed.

Kat’s quick to cuddle up, though, resting as well.

The next morning, Parr wakes up the latest.

She’s feeling far more refreshed now, sleeping in after a long night the night before. Jane had been so worried, Katherine hadn’t answered her phone and no one knew where she was. She turned out to be with Cleves, which was a relief, but where were they that Kat wouldn’t have answered her phone?

Regardless, Parr gets ready for the day, knowing that there’s a show that night. She moves into the kitchen to find Katherine there.

“Hey,” Kat says quietly.

“Hey,” Parr replies.

It’s a moment. It’s awkward. Parr moves on to get some cereal.

Jane enters not too long afterwards. She seems a lot better today as well.

“You two look rested,” Katherine observes. “Good, I’m glad.”

“No thanks to you.”

The trio look over to find Boleyn standing in the doorway. She looks annoyed.

“Anne-“ Katherine starts, But Anne shakes her head.

“They were worried, Kat. Really worried. And you didn’t even call them to check in.” Anne states directly at Kat’s eyes. She could swear there’s a flash of something dark in them, but whatever it was, it doesn’t do anything.

Katherine looks annoyed.

“What, I’m not allowed to do stuff by myself - or just with one person?” Katherine asks. “I can do what I want, Boleyn. That’s not your concern. I’m a big girl now, I can make my own decisions.”

“You made everyone worried when they were supposed to be recovering,  _ cousin _ ,” Anne spats. “You Lee them an apology and an explanation.”

Katherine stands up, angry. “I don’t need to explain anything to you. My actions are my actions and I’ll do what I damn well please.”

Anne narrows her eyes. Katherine glares more.

“Alright, you two, that’s enough,” Jane says as she enters. “Stop it. Right now.”

“Do you not think it’s weird that Kitty decides to pull this only a week after what happened before?” Boleyn asks. “Something’s up, Jane.”

Parr is quiet, observing. Katherine knows that’s dangerous, so she pulls Parr into the conversation.

“What? Are you going to make judgements on me, too?”

“Boleyn has a point,” Parr admits. “Acting weirdly after last week… it’s concerning, Kat.”

“Am I not allowed to have a damn night to myself? After watching you lot turn on me?” Kat yells out. She’s starting to cry now. “You three… you tried to hurt me. All of you did.”

The three queens look away in shame, one by one.

“And I just… I’m sorry. I can’t help but remember it. I can’t help but remember you throwing Anne into the wall,” she says to Jane, “and you keeping me captive in my room,” she says to Parr, “and you faking it when I needed support.”

“Hey, Wait, that’s not fair-“ Anne starts, but Katherine shakes her head.

“No, it is fair. It’s all fair. You guys left me. You left me to die and I was so scared.” Kat gets up. “I don’t need to explain anything to anyone. I don’t need your permission.”

“Kat-“ Parr starts, But Katherine shakes her head. It hurts, it’s constantly hurting, she wants it to stop but more and more pain gets added on. This new way of living, it was driving Katherine insane.

She needed to leave.

Kat is quick to move into her bedroom. Anne is seething.

“She’s not right,” Anne says. “She’s just not right-“

“Okay, that’s enough,” Catherine Parr says. “Everyone go cool down. We can’t be fighting like this, not after last week. We’re all shaken, we’re all dealing with it in our own ways. If she wants to… act out, I guess, she can do it. Everyone’s a bit out of character right now anyways.”

Anne shakes her head, sitting down.

“Whatever.”

She’s back to shutting herself out again, going to her room.

Jane is sure to wait a few minutes before knocking softly on Katherine’s door.

“Come in,” Kat says. She’s on her laptop, but she sets it aside for Jane.

Jane gives her a soft smile, but she’s clearly worried.

“Hello, Love,” Jane says, sitting next to her on the bed. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” Katherine says, shrugging. “Just fine. Nothing for you guys to worry about, I promise.” she sighs. “I know I’ve been a bit… off, lately.”

“A little bit,” Jane says lightly. Katherine smiles a bit.

“But I just… I was so scared, mum. Of losing you guys. I guess it kinda… put me in a weird place.”

Jane nods understandingly. She’s not seen Katherine as much as she’s liked to lately. She’s mostly been asleep. But now that she’s finally feeling better, she thinks she can change that.

With a gentle hum, Jane pulls Katherine a bit closer.

“I know, everyone is a bit out of sorts lately,” Jane mumbles. “But the longer that gets behind us, the quicker people will be back to normal. Even you, Kitty.” She gives Kat a gentle kiss to the forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Mum,” Kat replies. There’s a softness to her voice that hasn’t been present since before the events of last week. “So, so much.”

With the two of them reconciled, the rest of the day goes off without a hitch. There’s some joking around in the dressing room but nothing too outlandish; to the untrained eye, there’s nothing wrong with the Queens.

Just as they’re about to call places, Aragon walks up to Boleyn.

“You good?” Aragon asks. Boleyn huffs.

“I’m not convinced that there’s nothing wrong with Katherine just yet,” Boleyn admits. “There’s just… it’s too drastic of a difference. Even with what happened.”

Aragon shrugs. “We’ll just have to keep an eye on her, then.”

Boleyn nods. “Yeah. We will.”

The show starts out without a hitch. There’s a light to Katherine’s eyes that hasn’t been there in ages and Boleyn’s coming out of her shell. The Queens rock the opening number, go through “No Way,” and Boleyn is practically beaming when her song starts.

She’s so focused on the performance that she doesn’t hear a loud  _ CLANK! _ above her.

“Watch out!” Katherine yells, but Boleyn feels something hit her head and her world is thrust into darkness.

 


	3. Politics? Not My Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The situation becomes more dire as Boleyn recovers.

**** The first thing Boleyn registers is that she’s floating.

She opens her eyes, a few seconds taken to adjust. She hears the steady beeping of machines, as well as familiar voices to the left of her.

A blonde haired woman comes into view.

“Anne?” She asks. “Anne, can you hear me?”

It’s all Anne can hear before the darkness swallows her again.

It wasn’t the Darkness that has been looming over the girls for the past week.

No, it’s good ol’ regular unconsciousness. She doesn’t realize how much she’s missed it until this very moment.

She comes back to herself and finds another woman - short, straight black hair, hand in Boleyn’s.

“Cleves,” Boleyn manages to croak out.

The woman in question looks relieved.

“Hello there,” Cleves says softly. “You took quite the hit last night.”

“Wha’..?” Boleyn asks. The pain medicine is a bit strong at the moment.

“It’s alright, Anne,” comes another voice; Aragon. She seems really worried. “Just rest.”

The other three are silent as Anne once again succumbs to sleep. They’ve all been there since the incident.

When the bar with five heavy lights on it fell from the ceiling and onto Anne, they had all thought that the Boleyn girl was a goner. Luckily, through some sort of miracle, she seems to be going to be just fine after some rest and observation.

The incident left the other girls shaken, though. There’s been a few small snaps at each other, some frustrated mumbling, that sort of thing. They’re all under incredible pressure to figure this out.

One thing is clear to all of them - they know Bolyen’s accident wasn’t a mistake. It was intentional. They just know it.

The question is, who did it?

Kat moves over to Jane and puts her hand in the woman’s. Jane gives her a soft smile.

“Mum, I just…” she sighs. “I need to talk with you. Before the thing happened - before the show - Parr was acting… really weird. And she came down the ladder where the lights were.”

Jane frowns. “She did? I thought she was talking to you the entire time.”

“Before she did that. I saw her. I dunno who else did, but I’m sure of this.” She looks over towards Parr. She was reading, face neutral.

Kat looks up at her mom. “I think Boleyn’s right. I think the Darkness is back.”

Jane frowns. “I… I dunno. I’ll keep a closer eye on her, love,” Jane says. Jane’s then called by the doctor, so she leaves for a moment.

Kat goes over to Parr.

“How are you feeling?” Kat asks quietly.

Parr sighs. “Nervous. I want to know how the lights got loose,” Parr says. “Someone was over by the ladder before the show, when we were taking. I’m just not sure who-“

“It was Jane,” Kat says. “Have you noticed that she’s acting a bit… weird? Aragon, too.”

“Yeah?” Cat asks, looking over at the first queen. “I haven’t… but I’ll keep a closer eye on her.”

Kat looks over at Anne’s bed… and the nurse arrives.

“I’m sorry,” the nurse says, “but for the moment, until she’s out of critical condition, we can only have one of you in here at once.

“Can I stay with her?” Kat asks. She looks so worried and scared that none of the others have the heart to tell her no.

She waits until they’re all gone. Then, with a gentle hand on Anne’s, Anne starts to awaken. Suddenly, the drugs aren’t making her groggy.

“There you are,” Kat says. “I was worried.”

“That hurt,” Boleyn mumbles, but she looks around. “Where’s the others?”

“In the waiting room. I have another few minutes with you until Jane comes in to say good night. They won’t let us stay overnight.”

Anne nods, but Kat bites her lip nervously.

“Do you think… do you think you can trust her?”

Anne raises an eyebrow. “You don’t?”

“I just… don’t anymore,” Katherine admits, looking out the window. “How can I, in all honesty? She just… she’s gone.”

“What do you mean?” Anne asks. “She loves you, Kat. She loves everything about you-“

“Why are you being so nice about it?”

It’s a question that’s caught Anne off guard.

“What do you mean?”

“When you were Queen. She was the one He cheated on you with. Why are you protecting her, you know?”

That’s enough.

Anne shakes her head.

“So that’s the play, eh? Get us to turn on one another. Smart, but a bit idiotic for you to show your hand right now.”

“Not sure what you mean,” Katherine says. Her voice, though, is starting to become a bit more emotionless.

“Kat wouldn’t have brought that up,” Anne says. “You’re not Kat. You’re not my cousin.”

There’s a moment of quiet before Kat finally addresses the other woman.

“Do you like the others, Anne Boyeln?”

Anne blinks. Her heart rate spikes.

“What do you mean?” Anne asks.

Kat doesn’t completely answer.

“That light fixture… you’re quite unlucky that it happened to you. It could have happened to one of the others instead.”

Boleyn narrows her eyes. “Kat,” she says seriously. “Are you threatening something?”

The woman turns around slowly, a primal smirk on her face. Her eyes are pure black. She looks like a demon.

“Kat isn’t threatening anything,” she says. It’s too sweet of a voice, too gleeful. “She doesn’t have a say anymore, Annie, and now, you don’t either.”

Boleyn’s heart rate monitor is starting to pick up again.

“I knew it,” Anne says. “I  **knew** it.”

“Oh, you did,” Kat says, voice dripping with mock sincereity, mock sympathy. She even gives a fake pout to put the cherry on top. “But you won’t say anything.”

“Oh?” Anne asks.

“Yeah, you won’t.” Kat quips. “Because if you do - if you get in my way any more than you have already… it’ll be quite the dreadful accident for one of your friends. Your family. You’re stuck in bed for days to come, Boleyn, and I have the full lay of the land.”

Katherine leans in to smirk at Anne.

“How exactly would the show go on when there’s only five of six, I wonder?”

Anne glares. Her heart rate is through the roof, but she looks angry, no fear in her face.

Katherine chuckles. “You keep quiet, they stay safe. Deal?”

Anne considers her options: she can’t just let this… thing, take her baby cousin, but she also can’t risk anyone else getting hurt. She’s stuck in the hospital until otherwise noted, and the doctor said it could be a few days.

A few days where she can’t protect the others from anything that happens outside of this room.

She’ll have to play along.

“Fine.”

Kat laughs.

“Oh, you’re so easy, Boleyn! Even more than Howard here-“

“Girls?”

Katherine turns back to see Jane there. She looks absolutely normal.

“Hey, Mum,” Kat says, giving her a soft smile. “What’s up?”

“The doctors were concerned with Anne’s heart rate,” Jane said. “I just heard them when I came in. Are you alright?”

Boleyn’s first test. Both Katherine and Jane watch the girl closely, with concern.

They both seem sincere.

It sickens Anne.

“I’m fine,” Anne replies. “Just a… a bit of anxiety, I think.”

“You’ll have to make sure she rests before we get out of here,” Kat says.

Anne’s heart rate spikes again. Jane notes it.

Katherine gets up. “Okay then. I’ll leave you two to it, I’ll be outside with the others. We gotta leave soon.”

Kat leaves, leaving Jane and Anne.

Jane frowns. “Somethings the matter. What’s up?”

Anne looks at Jane, then at the door where Katherine was standing. She’s emotionless as she waits for Anne’s response.

Anne sighs.

“Too much excitement for the past two weeks, I think,” Anne mumbles. “Just… leave me alone.”

Anne turns into her side, away from Jane, to rest.

Katherine, with a smirk, leaves.

She meets up with Parr, Aragon and Cleves in the lobby. After another moment, Jane joins and they start to head for home.

“How are you feeling?” Katherine asks.

“Better now,” Parr says. She’s the one driving. “Far more rested than before. I’m worried about Jane, though,” she admits. Jane is asleep on Kat’s shoulder.

“Not Boleyn? Or the others?” Kat asks.

“Of course I am,” Parr defends. “Just… she’s been through a bit.”

Cleves and Aragon look at each other for a moment before looking back at the other two.

Katherine sighs. “ I guess. But so has everyone else.”

That’s exactly what Katherine tells Cleves and Aragon that night.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to cause drama, but…” Katherine sighs. “It’s just weird of Parr to say, you know? To only care about Jane when Anne’s literally in the hospital bed.”

“So, What?” Aragon asks. “You’re thinking…?”

“I think she’s still possessed,” Katherine says. “And she’s trying to break us apart. I think it’s history repeating itself, the thing has Parr and it tried to get Boleyn. That’s why she made a huge deal about Jane. It’s going after her again.”

“Alright, So then… what do we do?” Cleves asks. “If that’s what’s happening, we’ll need to capture Parr, right?”

“How did Boleyn do it last time?” Aragon asks.

“Pan to the back of the head,” Kat says.

“Could just try that again,” Aragon says.

Cleves thinks about it.

“I just.. I dunno. We haven’t seen her do anything insane like last time. Are we really going to go through with this with only a bad moment of evidence?”

“Evidence?”

Parr has heard commotion and walked in. Jane, too, has decided to enter the fray.

Perfect.

“Jane,” Aragon says, ignoring Parr for the moment. “We really need to talk to you.”

“About what?” Parr asks. Cleves narrows her eyes and Parr gives it to her right back.

“You’re still with that thing,” Cleves accuses. “You’re still under its spell. Clearly.”

“Clearly?!?” Parr asks. “You’re the ones acting weird! All the sideways glances to Aragon… if anyone is influenced, it’s you.”

“No, it’s not us. It’s you or Jane,” Aragon argues. “It’s got to be.”

“It’s not me, though,” Jane replies harshly. “You’re mad.”

The voices pick up and the four argue against each other loudly. They pick up the volume, accusing each other of everything. For the moment, at least, they’ve all given into the paranoia and the stress, going at each other’s throats.

Katherine leans back and smirks.

Perfect.

 


	4. Playtime's Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Darkness has thrown the Six into chaos. Can they recover in time?

**** Boleyn was going insane on her cot.

She knew Katherine was out there, somewhere, messing things up for the other girls. She doesn’t know exactly how, but she knows there’s something happening. Something that she might be too late to stop.

Recovery had been slow to start with, but with the stress of knowing that her cousin was in trouble, her family was being torn apart, and all showings had been cancelled for the next week thanks to the accident… it was taking longer than Boleyn hoped.

Exactly what Katherine wanted.

A day later, Katherine awakens with a pained gasp.

Every single movement Katherine makes sets some part of her body on fire. She can see everything, interact with everything, be normal for once, but that’s solely because there’s no reason for the Darkness to keep her captive at this time.

Still, it’s always there. Just on the edge of her mind. Waiting.

The Contract hadn’t been hard to sign, not with Jane’s body floating next to her. She always thought that she’d give up her life for Jane’s, but she never once considered she’d have to live through it, too.

And yet, here she was, at the will of… something.

She’s not sure what it is. She’s granted a lot of gifts with her new abilities - empathy, some control over people for split moments, extra energy - but the Darkness is allowed to take her over at will, as well as do whatever it wants with her and she has no say in it. In return, the family wouldn’t be harmed.

Those were the terms.

She sits on her bed now, concentrating. She closes her eyes, trying to feel some sort of relief. Her body shakes with pain; she’s reaching her limit. If this continues, she’s afraid of what it could do to her mind, to her psyche-

“…therine? Katherine!”

Kat jolts from her meditation to find Parr there. Parr looks annoyed, but it gives way to concern.

“Are you alright? You’re shaking.” 

Kat sighs. 

“I’m fine. I just… don’t like it when we all fight.”

Parr frowns. It’s been a weird day and a half, with Boleyn in recovery and the Queens suddenly at each other’s throats. No wonder why Katherine was shaking when Parr came in.

“Yeah, I understand,” Parr says gently, putting a soft arm around Katherine’s shoulders. “You… I know it’s been rough. I’m sorry, Kat.”

Katherine shrugs off Parr’s embrace. That’s even more troubling.

“I just… I don’t know who I can trust until we figure this all out, Parr,” Kat says softly. “I’m sorry. But… I just-”

“No, no, I get it,” Parr replies. “I understand. I guess… we all need to be more careful now. If we don’t figure this out quick… I’m afraid it’ll take us down, you know? Break us up.”

“No,” Katherine says, walking past Parr. Now Catherine couldn’t see Kat’s smirk.

“We wouldn’t want that, now, would we?”

When Boleyn’s finally allowed to go home, she’s stepping into a warzone. Almost immediately upon returning, Anne had to gasp as a wave of anxiety and fear passed through her.

“What the…?” she mumbles, but then she looks at Aragon.

Stupid, dumb, terrible Aragon.

And just like that, Boleyn is thrust into the chaos.

The girls fight every single moment they see each other; something about the others is just getting on everyone’s nerves. Jane yells at Katherine for trivial things; Aragon and Parr fight over whose Bible is whose. Cleves and Boleyn go after each other over a sweatshirt that’s neither of theirs, actually, but Howard’s. 

They’re lucky the performances are still cancelled; if it hadn’t been, the shows would have drastically suffered.

This goes on for three days before Aragon finally settles enough to work on some meditations. Finally, some alone time to reset and put things into perspective.

There’s something in the back of Aragon’s mind that is screaming at her to focus, to realize what’s happening, but the anger and frustration at the situation and at the other Queens wins out for the moment.

They had all split up one by one after their biggest fight yet, with only Howard remaining in the living room. The front door slammed shut a few minutes later, but who it actually was that left the flat is unknown to Aragon just yet.

She pokes her head out to see who it was, only to hear the last voice she wants to hear.

“That was Howard, if you’re wondering.”

Of course she’d cross paths with Anne Boleyn right now.

The two make eye contact and, immediately, a strong wave of anger washes over Aragon. It seems to have done that to Boleyn, as well, because the girl is marching right up to her.

It’s on.

“Great,” Aragon says. “Now go away.”

Boleyn glares. “You always think you’re high and mightier than all of us, don’t you?” Boleyn mock-laughs. “Just because you were the  _ first _ . Fat lot of good that was for you.”

“Only because you wormed your way in and messed everything up,” Aragon says, instantly on the defensive.

Anne shakes her head.

“I didn’t do anything except play the game the way it was supposed to be played. If you were any good at politics, maybe you’d have figured that out sooner.”

“You absolute  _ bitch _ ,” Aragon growls, though something about this conversation feels wrong. It feels… forced, in a way. She can’t put her finger on it, especially as Boleyn continues.

“And even worse, everyone actually felt  _ sorry _ for you. People pitied you. That’s partially why I got my damned  _ head cut off _ .”

Aragon rolls her eyes. “Not again with the beheaded thing - listen, that was all you. You were the idiot who couldn’t keep him.”

“Jane’s the fucking reason for that,” Boleyn concedes, “but you definitely helped get her in.”

“Oh really?” Aragon asks.

“Yeah. He was a strong-willed man who wanted something better, and all you wanted to do was trash his name and our relationship,” Anne growls.

“Excuse me?” Aragon asks, instantly offended… but also something else. She can’t place it just yet.

“He saw what a better prize looked like and he took it, Aragon,” Boleyn smirks rather smugly. “He didn’t do anything wrong on that front.”

It’s that comment that makes something in Aragon snap back into place.

“Do… do we hear ourselves right now?” Aragon asks.

“Don’t change the subject,” Boleyn starts, but Aragon shakes her head.

“No, I mean it we’re fighting… over Henry… and how he treated us.” Aragon points out. Boleyn stares. “Did you honestly just say he did nothing wrong and are we honestly blaming each other for his bullshit?”

Boleyn thinks for a moment before she makes a face.

“Oh,  **_god_ ** , what’s happening?”

“That damned spell,” Aragon mumbles. “Whatever it is, it’s causing a lot of problems for us today.”

“It explains a bit,” Boleyn mumbles, moving closer to Aragon. Her head snaps up after a moment and she glares. “But wait, you-”

“Stop, Anne. Think for a moment. Try to clear your head. You may be insufferable, and annoying, and a pain in my ass-“

“Thank you,” Anne butts in. Aragon continues.

“-but you’re incredibly clever. I need you back to help solve this. I get that our… past history… is something we will need to air out later. But for now, I really need your help. So do the others.”

Boleyn feels something snap in the back of her head. It’s like it’s back in place.

“Okay,” Boleyn mumbles. “Alright. Yeah, this… this makes sense. I’ll go after Cleves. You take Parr.”

Aragon raises an eyebrow. “You think that’s the best course of action?”

“Parr isn’t exactly thrilled with you,” Boleyn notes, “but I think that’s partly why you should be the one who does it.”

“Fair enough,” Aragon says. She nods. “I’ll get her, you should go after Jane, by that logic.” Boleyn tenses a bit, but nods.

“We’ll meet back here and decide who takes care of Cleves.”

They nod at each other before moving away. Aragon takes a deep breath before going into Parr’s study.

Parr isn’t even at her desk; she’s on her bed, curled up, angrily mumbling to herself. Aragon can’t help but pity her.

“Parr,” She says. The woman in question’s head snaps up to meet Aragon’s gaze. “We need to talk.”

“There is absolutely nothing for us to talk about,” Parr growls. “You don’t get to talk to me. Not after everything your family’s done to me.”

“What do you mean?” Aragon asks, moving into the room. “What exactly are you thinking about right now?”

Aragon knows where this is headed, of course, but she’s got a plan.

“Oh, don’t you even try to say that,” Parr growls. “Your daughter… she wasn’t exactly friendly to my friends. She burned them. A lot of them. All because they believed in something different.”

Parr marches straight up to Aragon. Aragon seems unfazed, to be honest. She looks around as if trying to spot something hidden as Parr continues.

“Your daughter killed too many, and she would have killed me too if she had the chance. Everything she did, the unspeakable horrors to get that damn Bloody Mary title, it’s because of you. EVERYTHING that happened is because of her twisted devotion to her damn faith-“

“Are you done?”

Parr blinks in surprise at Aragon’s question. It makes her angrier, but Aragon cuts in again:

“Obviously there’s some things we need to talk about later,” Aragon mumbles, “but that’s when we’ll have to do it. Later, when our sisters are safe. I don’t think you mean this as fiercely as you do right now - not that last part, anyways - but whatever is affecting you from before is back again.”

Aragon gently reaches up to wipe away a tear. Parr didn’t realize she was crying.

“Come on, Parr, you’re better than this. You’re stronger than this. Come back.”

It takes a moment, but Parr makes a conscious decision to focus, to settle her chaotic mind. Aragon starts to make sense and the woman gasps softly as she sees things a bit clearer.

“Catherine,” She says, voice soft as she looks back at Aragon. “I… I’m so sorry-“

“It’s alright,” Aragon replies. “I don’t blame you. Not really. Not right now.” She sighs. “Boleyn and I had a blow up like that just before. We both realized what was going on because of it. She’s off to get Jane. It’ll be a… rough, discussion. They might need our help.”

“What about Cleves and Howard?” Parr asks, now walking with Aragon towards the living room.

“She’s the last, But I was hoping you’d talk to Cleves,” Aragon said. “She was… a bit too distraught at Boleyn. When you’re thinking clearly, you can reach the best of us. Jane should be the one who breaks through to Howard… for obvious reasons.”

“I’ll get her sorted,” Parr says. There’s not even a trace of tears now, something that Aragon smiles at. Parr gently puts a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“Thank you,” Parr says quietly. “And I… I’m sorry.”

“We have a lot to discuss later,” Aragon says. “But it can wait. Let’s get our girls back first.”

 


	5. No Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the spell starting to be broken, the Six look forward to recovering their youngest band mate. Whether or not Howard will still be the same, however, is up for debate.

**** Convincing Cleves that they needed to work together was oddly easy.

She had been sitting in the living room, calmly drinking some tea when Parr found her. Cleves raised an eyebrow at the other woman.

“What do you want?” She asks cautiously.

Parr takes a deep breath.

“I know things have been really… hostile, between everyone,” Parr says. “But… I was talking to the others, and we’ve agreed that we need to set all of this aside. There’s something… bad… influencing us. Again. And it’s trying to break us apart.”

Cleves took a sip of her tea. “I see.”

Nothing else, just keeps a close eye on Parr.

“Yeah,” Parr says quietly. 

The awkward silence that followed is almost suffocating, until Cleves gets up.

“Well… if you lot are willing to set it aside, I suppose I am as well,” Cleves moves up to Parr, gently pushing her chin up to get a good look at Catherine.

“The only thing I’m concerned about, really, is who we can trust.”

“Do you trust me?”

That’s the first question on Parr’s mind as Cleves looks her over. There’s a moment before Anna replies.

“Mostly, yes. I don’t think you’re the culprit for us going after each other so terribly,” Cleves says. “You’re being a bitch, yes,” Parr suppresses a smirk, “but you’re being you. It’s all in character.”

“And you’re pretty calm, but otherwise… it’s not bad,” Parr replies. “I trust you. So that’s 2/3 of the party down-”

“Get the  _ bloody hell away _ from me!”

The two look at each other before they move to Jane’s room. There is Boleyn and Aragon.

They both look very annoyed.

“What’s going on?” Parr asks.

Aragon is instantly pointing a finger at Jane. “She’s being stubborn, that’s what,” she growls. Then, with a look from Cleves, Aragon calms down a bit. “… neither Boleyn nor I can do this.”

“Oh, yes, Lady Boleyn’s just jealous of how I played the game better than her,” Jane says, smirking smugly. “Isn’t that right, Anne?”

“I dunno, Seymour,” Boleyn says, glaring at the woman. “Why don’t you tell me more?”

“Wait a minute-” Parr starts, but Boleyn extends a hand.

“No, let her finish. It’s important.”

There’s something in Boleyn’s gaze that makes Parr trust her. She’s not sure what Anne’s planning, but it’s apparently something important.

Jane smirks, walking right up to Anne. There’s ice in Jane’s gaze, but Anne doesn’t back down.

“What were you saying, Janey?” Anne quips. “I couldn’t hear your insufferable voice over Parr.”

Jane takes the bait.

“I was  _ saying _ that you’re just jealous I managed to get ahead where you failed,” Jane growls. She’s practically groveling in her boasts to Anne. “I made sure I was exactly what you weren’t, and it worked. 

"And it got me beheaded,” Boleyn adds. “Don’t forget that.”

“How could I? You go on and on about it all day,” Jane says, rolling her eyes.

“Just like Katherine.”

“Just like-” Jane starts, but then stops. Her brow furrows. “… like Kat. Yes.”

Anne sees the opening and takes it.

“That’s my cousin, you know. And she wouldn’t be too happy hearing you gloat about this,” Anne says quietly, softly. She can see that Jane’s thinking this all through. “And besides, I don’t think you really mean all of this. I think your anger’s being used against you, Janey.”

Jane blinks, takes a moment and sits down.

“I…” she swallows, looking up at Boleyn. “I’m so sorry, Anne-”

“There we go,” Boleyn replies. “See? All she needed was a chance to talk it out.” She sits next to Jane, gently rubbing the girl’s back. “It’s alright. I’m just glad you’re back. I don’t… we all don’t, like being against each other.”

Jane takes a deep breath. “That only leaves Kitty.”

“About that…” Boleyn starts. She has everyone else’s full attention. “… it’s Kat. Kat’s the Darkness now.”

Jane puts her head in her hands.

“I knew it, I just knew it,” she mumbles. “I’m so sorry, everyone. It’s my fault. I thought she did something terrible when she saved me, and I think… I think I’m starting to remember.”

“What do you mean?” Cleves asks. 

“I’m starting to remember things now,” Jane replies. “From when I was in the dark. I… I remember that Katherine signed something. It released us. I just… I guess it was to transfer the Darkness from me to her?”

“She threatened me at the hospital,” Boleyn reveals. “If I told you guys, she’d put you in danger.”

“Did she cause the light collapse?” Parr asks.

Boleyn shrugs. “She didn’t say, but I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“So it’s Katherine,” Aragon mumbles. “That makes things… difficult.” 

“Of course it does,” Jane replies. “Especially if the only reason why all of us were released was because of her deal with… whatever it is.” 

There’s a beat before Parr talks.

“Well, when I was… under the spell, or whatever, you guys knocked me out, right?” 

Boleyn smiles apologetically at that, but nods.

“We could do that to her-”

“No.”

Everyone looks around as the lights flicker. Suddenly, Katherine is in front of them.

“Kitty?” Jane asks. She tries to get up, but she can’t move. Looking around, it’s clear that everyone else is struggling, but they’re frozen as well. 

“You can’t,” Howard mumbles. “You can’t save me.” 

“We’re going to,” Boleyn says. “I promise. We promise.”

“I made a deal,” Howard says, shaking. “I keep you guys safe by being… by being its host. That’s the contract. It saved you.”

“How  _ exactly _ is me being hit by a light fixture safe?” Boleyn points out. “It’s lying to you, Kat. There’s another way around this, I’m sure of it.” 

Katherine thinks about that for a moment, but then she yells in pain, hands going to her head.

“I can’t… I can’t, I just can’t,” Katherine mumbles. “It’s so much pain. All I feel is pain. I can’t-”

“Kat?” Parr asks, but the lights flicker and Katherine’s gone again.

Jane is crying, the first to move, falling to where Katherine was standing only moments before.

She’s quiet.

“… we need to research witchcraft,” Jane says seriously. “And figure out everything about it.”

“I’ve been doing some research,” Aragon says. “And I think… there’s a way to do  this. Multiple, actually.”

“This?” Boleyn asks. “What’s this?”

Aragon looks dead serious.

“An exorcism.” 

The others look at each other.

“Is that… do you honestly think that’s the only way?” Cleves asks. Aragon shrugs.

“I think we’ve tried the Power of Love and it’s not worked,” Aragon replies. “we need a more… physical, approach.” Aragon holds out her cross. 

“… I don’t have a better idea,” Parr admits. “We could definitely try it.” 

“Are you insane?” Jane asks. “This is… this could hurt her.”

“We can try one more time to get through to Katherine, to see if she can rebuke it,” Cleves suggests, “But right now, I think… I think Aragon is right.”

Boleyn takes a moment to consider, but then nods.

“Alright. So…” she looks at Cleves and Aragon. “You guys figure out how to do it. Parr, Jane,” she points at them. “You figure out how to get Katherine back here. I’ll set up a few traps in the house to try to catch her when Parr and Jane succeed in collecting her.”

“Alright,” Parr says, standing up. “We… probably only have one shot at this.”

“We’ll make it count,” Aragon says, nodding.

“And we’ll get her back,” Jane says.

The go off to make final preparations.

Meanwhile, Katherine is in the Darkness, floating in pain. She can hear whispers - all negative energy, all screams of pain. She’s not sure if her own screams are in there; she can barely recognize herself anymore.

When she feels the tug back to the waking world again, she almost resists. She doesn’t, though, knowing that it could be one of the last times she’ll see her world.

She stands in the graveyard of a nearby church, sniffling in pain.

“You can stop hurting, you know.”

She turns to find a man made of shadows. Katherine shakes her head.

“No,” she mumbles. “I need to stay strong for them.”

“Who’s them?” he asks quietly.

She thinks.

“I don’t… I don’t know their names anymore,” Katherine admits. The pain had stolen her memory of them. “But I know them. They’re my family. They’re gonna figure out a way through this.”

“You don’t need to worry about them anymore,” the man mumbles. He sounds soft, caring. “You can follow me into the darkness. It hurts a bit at first, but it only takes a second. Then, you’ll be free. I promise, we can keep you safe.”

Katherine is tempted to go, to be free of the worlds of pain she’s carrying.

A flash of blonde hair and soft smile runs through her mind.

“She… did she feel like this?” Katherine asks. “That woman, the one with the blonde hair… did she feel like this when you had her, too?”

The man stays for a moment before he disappears entirely. Katherine is panicked.

“No, please! Let me go, please let me go!” She yells, but she ends up collapsing to the floor in tears.

She doesn’t know how much longer she has. Her only saving grace - her only hope - is knowing that those five nameless people are out there. They had promised her that she’d be okay. For some reason unknown to her at the moment, she really believes them.

It’s the only light in a very dark place.

 


	6. 'till The End Of My Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight for Howard's soul ends now.

Aragon looks extremely serious as she pours over the books on the dining room table. 

Parr is helping her look things over while Cleves and Boleyn look up things online. Jane is skimming through books as well, but is a slower reader than the rest of them; she finds herself a bit stronger on the organizational part, making sure things are clear and well maintained as the rest work. 

No one says anything unless it’s information. It’s the most serious any of them have been in their second life. 

“This all seems dangerous,” Boleyn mumbles. “It says here exorcisms actually did more bad than good-”

“But this isn’t a normal thing,” Jane replies. “It’s not her. I know it, you can feel it.” 

“Jane’s right,” Parr says. “Whatever the thing is, it’s got her.”

They continue to search, though Aragon’s gaze settles on a black, old, leather book that’s somehow fallen off the table without anyone noticing. Picking it up, she can’t help but be curious. It almost seems to be calling out to her, in a way. 

She opens the book and reads a few pages before her eyes go wide. 

“Parr.”

Catherine stands up and reads over Aragon’s shoulder. 

“The Shadows, as they’re called,” Parr reads. Everyone else pays attention. “Are the manifestation of negative energy. They are the thoughts of dread, terror, and loss of innocence.”

“Explains why they want Kat so bad,” Cleves mumbles. Parr continues. 

“The Darkness wants nothing more but to attack the Light, those with positivity and happiness. When it is able to, it can…”

Parr frowns, then looks over at Aragon. 

“It can take over the host for all eternity and banish the soul from the Light.”

“They’re going after her soul?” Jane asks. “Whatever this is… it’s going after everyone’s soul?” 

“Apparently,” Parr confirms. Boleyn takes the book from her, looking it over.

“What even is this, anyways?” Anne asks, tilting her head. “This isn’t from the library…”

“Not sure,” Aragon replies, “but it’s a better resource than anything else here. Does it say something about how to fight it off?”

Boleyn skims through it. “Oh, yeah, here - apparently…” she reads through it first to confirm before saying it to the others. “It’s through positivity.” Anne rolls her eyes. “Brilliant. We’re screwed.”

“Hang on,” Cleves replies, gently taking the book out of Boleyn’s hands. “Some other stuff, too… apparently, the Light can reach the Darkness just like the Darkness can reach the Light. It’s a two-way street.”

“So…” Parr considers it. “We can actually reach her. Somehow.”

“Even though it didn’t fully work for us when Jane…” Anne starts, but the look of worry on Jane’s face makes her stop.

Jane looks down at her hands. “That… whatever it was. It was scary. And you feel alone and angry and sad and confused and…” she shutters at the feeling, of what she felt. Cleves moves over and gently puts a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “It’s hard to break. I didn’t even - I don’t know about you, Parr.”

“Only when Aragon helped me,” Parr replies. “Maybe… maybe that’s the way in? Through her memories, her dreams?”

“They call them Nightmares,” Anne recalls. “That’s what Howard said.”

“We can find her through her mind, then,” Aragon says, nodding seriously. “Shouldn’t be too hard…”

“You’re kidding, right?” Boleyn asks, raising an eyebrow. “Kitty’s mind? With everything we’ve seen… no wonder why they’ve got such a hold on her.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Parr says confidently. “We’re certainly not giving up, at any rate.”

The others nod.

“We just need to find her,” Aragon says. “And try to wake her up.” That gets Jane’s attention.

“I think… I know where she’ll be.”

That is how five ex-wives of Henry VIII end up at the Tower of London.

It’s quiet; they expected as much so late at night. With no one else around, the five simply stand there, around the spot, silent. For these type of things - a final battle of sorts - there’s usually rain, and terrible weather, and lightning crashing to make the scene all that more intense.

There’s nothing of the sort here, though. Boleyn idly thinks that it could use some of that dramatics right now. Anything to cut the tension.

“You think she’ll be here?” Boleyn asks, looking over at Jane.

“They want to keep her contained, right?” Jane asks. “Where else but the place of her most terrifying moment?”

They stare at the pedestal commemorating Howard’s execution.

For a moment, they hear nothing… but then, Jane especially, hears a small sob coming from nearby.

They look at each other before they move towards where they hear it. Eventually, they come across the small, scared child, sitting a few feet from Traitor’s Gate.

Of course.

“Katherine?” Jane asks, looking her over. She’s quick to go to her side. “Katherine, can you hear me, love?” 

Katherine shakes her head, rocking back and forth as she holds her neck. “It hurts… it hurts so much…” she doesn’t seem to notice Jane or the others at all. “Oh, god, this hurts…”

“What’s going on, is she injured?” Aragon asks, but Jane shakes her head. 

“No, I don’t think so, she seems fine physically, at least,” Jane mumbles, gently rubbing Katherine’s back. “Love, please… we’re right here. Can you see us?”

Katherine’s eyes go wide and she looks up… but she seems to look past Jane entirely. Katherine stands, hobbling to a degree, hand on her neck as she moves towards where she had been executed.

It’s then that Boleyn yelps in pain, falling to the ground and holding her neck.

“Anne!” Cleves yells, rushing to her. “It’s okay, I’ve got you-”

“It’s like that day all over again,” Anne manages. “It… it hurts so bad…” she looks up at Howard, vision already getting spotty. “Is this… is this what she’s feeling right now…?”

That’s all she can say, though, as another wave of pain comes to her. She’s running out of oxygen, the pain so much that she can’t breathe.

“Katherine-!” Jane starts, but a sudden, piercing pain in her stomach stops her in her tracks. Jane screams in pain, falling to her knees.

That seems to awaken Kat a little bit.

“Mum?” she asks, looking around wildly. “Mum, are you here?”

Parr realizes what’s happening and is quick to move to the young girl. “We’re right here, Katherine,” Parr says, trying to shake her awake. There’s some sort of… Darkness, in Katherine’s eyes. She supposes that it’s magic in the work, cloaking the rest of them from Howard’s view. “Katherine, come on, we need you here… Jane’s in trouble now. So is Boleyn, your cousin, remember? We need you to snap out of this-”

A wave of nausea hits Parr and she has to cough. She pulls her hand away and finds blood. She knows what this means.

“Come on, Kat!” She yells. “We need you!”

Something about those words seem to get through to Katherine. With a few blinks, her eyes settle on the bloodied hand of Catherine Parr.

“I… Cathy?” Kat asks, a bit out of it as she finally focuses on Parr. Parr gives her a soft, if shaky, smile.

“Hey. We don’t have much time. We gotta… we need to get you safe. Or get it out of you. Whatever you did, it’s alright-”

“No,” Katherine says, backing up. “I… I can’t.”

Aragon falls to her knees in pain next to Boleyn. Cleves is last one standing.

She’s quick to move to Parr to help lower her to the ground. It’s up to Cleves now, she knows this.

“Remember when you were little?” Cleves asks, voice gentle and soothing. She takes the woman’s shoulders, makes sure that Katherine can’t look away. “Remember when we danced at the balls and played with the hounds and was just around each other?” Katherine nods, so Cleves continues. “Remember how you said that made you feel safe?” 

“I…” Katherine starts, but then she shakes her head. “I can’t. This thing… if I don’t hold it in, you guys will have to-”

“Didn’t they say,” Cleves says, “That we wouldn’t be harmed?” Katherine nods. Cleves motions to Parr, now still on the ground next to them, barely breathing. Boleyn’s hand is in Aragon’s, who both are now still a few feet away. Boleyn's gone still while Aragon keeps her close.

And finally, Jane Seymour, still moving, still crawling towards Katherine, trying beyond all hope to reach her, to say goodbye… collapses to the ground and lies motionless.

Katherine’s eyes are wide with horror. Cleves takes a breath before looking back at Howard.

“They’re hurt, love. They’re injured. They didn’t strike their end of the bargain. You can leave it.” Cleves gently puts her forehead to Katherine’s.

“They’re playing you for a fool, Kat, but we both know you’re smarter than that. We’re right here, we won’t go anywhere. I promise.”

“They’re…” Katherine says, starting to hyperventilate. The pain in her head… it’s started to subside. Instead, she starts to feel warmth, stemming from where Cleves is holding her. “They lied,” she realizes. Cleves nods. “They lied, and they hurt them,” she’s getting a bit angry now.

“Yes,” Cleves says softly. “And I think you can help them. If you can… rebuke, or dispell, or do whatever you can to get them to leave… I think they’ll be okay.”

Cleves feels a bit unwell. She knows this is her final chance.

“Come back to us, Katherine,” Cleves says, gently kissing Howard’s head. “We need you.”

She feels her body shutting down, feels it starting to fail. Whatever magick’s taken over the others, it will soon consume her too.

As she falls to Howard’s side, she can’t help but hope that the others will be where she’s headed.

It’s silent on the grounds, with only Katherine Howard still breathing. She sobs, looking at the five others… and something clicks. She holds Cleves’ hand, giving her a shaky smile.

“This… isn’t how we end.”

There’s a sudden pull in Katherine’s mind and suddenly, she’s alone. The others aren’t on the ground, they’re nowhere. Instead, is the man; covered in darkness, not threatening but definitely suspicious.

“I… you didn’t follow the terms,” Katherine says weakly. She’s scared.

“We didn’t need to,” the man replied. “You owe us.”

Katherine takes a moment before she shakes her head. She’s getting more confident the more she remembers Cleves’ words.

“No. I remember them now, see?” Katherine says. “You can’t do this, according to that contract. It’s void. I’m going home-”

The man, in the blink of an eye, has grabbed Katherine’s wrist and has gotten far too close to her for comfort. She winces.

“You. Do. Not. Get. To. Have. A. Say,” he growls out. She looks down at the arm, panicked, before she shakes her head.

“No,” she growls right back. “I do. And they’re waiting for me.”

“Who are?” he asks, challenges really. She shakes her head.

“I…” she thinks hard; who were those people? Who were they to her? It takes a moment, but she says what she feels is right, what she knows is true: 

“They’re my family.”

A light pierces through the darkness. It’s coming for them.

Katherine looked over at the man in the darkness again; he seemed… oddly familiar. Flashes of events went through her mind; even things she hadn’t thought about in over 500 years.

She looks up just in time to recognize the man… but the world is shrouded in light only a moment later.

Outside of her mind, Katherine Howard has been levitating off the ground by a few feet, right at the feet of Aragon. Aragon stares in determination, cross out and held towards Katherine, attempting to shield the others. Cleves is gently helping Boleyn to her feet while Parr helps Seymour. 

It takes a moment, but the darkness whirling around them - escaping Katherine’s body - leaves her. She falls to the ground unceremoniously, body still.

Aragon takes a knee then, gasping for air. She holds onto her cross like a lifeline.

Jane is the first to get up, eyes only on Katherine’s still body. She gently lifts Katherine up, bringing the teenager into her lap.

She looks so small, so weak.

Not alive.

“Kat?” Jane asks, tears already forming. She gently shakes the woman. “Kitty-Kat, please… please, wake up. I’ve got you. We got you back. I promised you, remember?”

Parr stands, barely able to get to Aragon in her state, keeping the woman steady. She takes a deep breath before looking over at the two just a few feet away. 

“Is…” Aragon starts. Parr just stares at the scene.

Boleyn and Cleves, finally waking, see what’s happened and gather next to Aragon and Parr. They look a bit dazed - Cleves has a nasty bruise on her head, Boleyn’s shoulder has seen better days - but they’re alive.

Five out of six ain’t bad, all things considered. 

Jane is gently rocking Katherine’s still form, sobbing into her daughter’s shoulder. Katherine remains still, completely lifeless. 

Once again, Jane has lost her child.

 

 

… well, for about fifteen seconds, anyways.

Katherine groans, moving against Jane. She looks up at the woman with confusion at first. Jane is just shocked into silence as Katherine gets her bearings in order. 

“... there you guys are,” Katherine mumbles. “Took you long enough.”

Jane can’t help but laugh at that, tears still flowing as she hugs Katherine close to herself. The others, visibly relieved, move back towards the pair. 

“We should get going,” Parr says. “The sun’s coming up.”

Cleves gently collects Katherine and the others slowly but surely make their way out of the Tower. Aragon, however, stops for a moment, looking back at where this all happened.

She gently keeps hold of her cross, says a small prayer, then catches up with the others.


	7. We're So Much More Than

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katherine tries to recover and the Darkness aims for its next target.

The first thing Katherine Howard sees is a bright light. 

Her vision had gone blurry after leaving the Tower of London, after the Darkness had left her. The next thing she knew, she was adjusting to some light - sunlight? - and staring up at a ceiling. She couldn’t move just yet - she didn’t have the energy to - but a soft voice pierced through her fog.

“Katherine? Katherine, love, can you hear me?”

She slowly but surely looks over at a figure. Blonde hair, concerned, worried eyes. 

It’s someone Katherine doesn’t recognize.

“Who… are you?”

It’s a question Jane isn’t expecting.

“I… Jane Seymour, love. Remember?” she asks quietly. “Your mum.”

Katherine frowns, then nods, looking around. She looks outside; there’s not much there that she can see, but the clear blue sky is something Katherine didn’t realize she missed. It feels very foggy to her right now - she doesn’t know why, but everything just seems to not be snapping into place. She feels like she’s out of her body-

“Katherine?”

Another woman, this time in blue.

“... who’re-?” Katherine starts, but a wave of… something… passes over her. When she opens her eyes again, it’s a woman in red.

“There you are,” the woman says. “It’s about time you woke up again- no, wait, hang on, Kat, just-!!”

Katherine thought she blinked, but it clearly wasn’t that short, as now a green-dressed woman was at her side.

“You’ve been in and out for a few days, cousin,” the girl says. “We miss you. Come back to us.”

And again, a blink, and she’s replaced by someone in gold.

“I’m so sorry,” the woman mumbles. And again, Katherine is cloaked in darkness.

Aragon looks down at the girl with pity, but then moves from the bedside.

Jane is beside herself with worry.

“She asked who I was and she won’t even stay conscious for more than a few seconds,” Jane recaps to Parr, pacing the hallway.

“Something’s up,” Boleyn confirms. “Are we sure she’s free from it’s influence?”

“Who’s to say, really?” Cleves replies. “We don’t know how any of this works. For all we know, we failed.”

“I don’t think so,” Parr says. “The Darkness definitely left her. We all saw that. And we all recovered from our… deaths…” she shutters at the thought, at the feeling. She never wants to experience it again. “There’s something else. I really think there’s something else.”

“Maybe because of how long she was affected,” Aragon says, “she’s having a harder time to recover?”

“She’s not recovering, though,” Boleyn says. “It’s… it’s something else. I just feel it.”

Parr sighs, looking back at Katherine. She’s awake, looking around, but Parr doesn’t even bother alerting the rest of them. Sure enough, Katherine’s eyes have glazed over, unmoving once again.

It’s painful, to see the kid like this. Katherine was always so full of energy, so full of life; to see her so… out of it, for lack of a better word, killed Parr. She knew it heavily affected the others as well.

“What do we do?” Cleves asks. “I… I don’t have any other options.”

“We try to be there for her,” Jane says. “We try to coax her out of this. As much as we can.” 

She moves back to Katherine’s side, keeping her hand in the teen’s.

The rest just stare at the sight before, eventually, retreating to their own rooms. It leaves only Jane with Katherine.

Jane sighs. She’s barely been able to hold back tears; every time Katherine stirs, she asks who Jane is, and then ends up back in whatever fog has claimed her. It breaks Jane’s heart; Kat was supposed to be saved. They got her back. She shouldn’t be suffering like this…

With a deep breath, Jane goes to stand, but something catches her eye.

In the moonlight, Jane can barely make out a small cross on Katherine’s bedside table. It glows with a weird… dark, energy. 

“Aragon?” Jane asks. The woman is quick to arrive.

“What is it, is she awake?” Aragon asks, but then, she looks at the item on the bedside table, where Jane is pointing. She sees the cross and narrows her eyes. “That’s… that’s my cross,” Aragon mumbles. She goes over to it, staring at it for a moment, before picking it up. The cross suddenly glows a warm, gentle light, then stops glowing altogether.

A moment later, Katherine gasps awake.

Jane’s tearing up again.

“Kitty-Kat?” Jane asks gently, moving into Katherine’s line of sight. Kat catches her breath before looking over at Jane. Her eyes are clearer than they have been.

“... Mum?” she asks gently; her voice is a bit shot, but she’s recognized Jane. She knows who she is. 

The tears start and Jane engulfs Katherine in a hug.

“Oh, thank god,” Jane says against Katherine’s shoulder. “You’re back… you’re finally back…”

“How…? I’m confused,” Katherine mumbles, leaning against Jane. She’s clearly exhausted. “I… there was a man. Filled with Shadows. He… I think he’s angry.”

Jane smooths out Katherine’s hair. “You’ve been gone for days, love,” Jane mumbles. “A bit over a week, actually.”

“A week?” She asks quietly. “I… but we just got you back last night. Didn’t we?”

“No, no,” Jane replies softly. She sniffles a bit. “I know this is confusing, but the others… they missed you, love. So very much. Right, Aragon-?” 

She looks over at Aragon. Catherine’s back is to them, seemingly frozen in place. She’s staring down at something - the cross? - and Jane’s concerned.

“Catherine?” she asks quietly. Kat looks on, concerned.

A moment later, Aragon seems to come back to herself, looking over at them.

“Hm? Oh, right,” she mumbles, pocketing the cross. “Yes, we… we really missed you, Kat.” She looks back at the door. “I can grab them now, if you’d like? I know they’re really concerned about you.”

“Yeah, if… what time is it?” Katherine asks, a hand going to her head. “It feels… so weird…”

“Maybe we can get them tomorrow,” Jane replies. “It’s 3 AM.”

“Get some rest, Kat,” Aragon says softly. She moves over, kissing the girl on the forehead. “You can see them in the morning.” 

Kat nods, smiling gratefully at Aragon for the suggestion, before she looks at Jane. “Can you… can you stay here tonight?”

“You weren’t getting rid of me any time soon, love,” Jane quips, a big smile on her face. “Scoot over.”

With the two of them safe and sound, Aragon moves away and to her room. She puts the cross on the table next to her bed, then goes to bed herself.

The cross once again glows with an eerie light. It seems to start to smoke a bit… and wrap itself around Aragon. Aragon looks pained for a moment before she settles in her sleep.

The next day, Parr checks in on Katherine and is delighted to see that she’s awake and aware of her surroundings. Boleyn arrives a few minutes later - they all could barely sleep, resulting in the majority of the girls waking up earlier than usual - and is quick to embrace her cousin. Cleves follows not too far behind.

Aragon, however, is dead to the world.

The other Queens move into the living room and kitchen: Howard, Boleyn and Cleves hang out in the living room while Parr and Jane get breakfast ready.

“Considering the past few weeks,” Parr says softly. Jane can hear it but the others can’t, “I can’t help but be a bit concerned that Aragon’s sleeping in… well, sleeping longer than the rest of them.”

“She was up late last night with us,” Jane muses. “And I think the events at the Tower were a bit more her doing than the majority of us. You know, with the cross.”

Parr shrugs. “I’ll check in on her later today. For right now, let’s just… keep an eye on everyone. I’m not convinced this is over. Not by a long shot.”

Jane sighs. “Do you think… you think it’ll go after every one of us?”

“I don’t know. But I thought it was over before… it looked as done and dusted as it does right now. I’m not ruling anything out.”

“Well, we can at least figure it out relatively easier this time,” Jane muses. “Just figure out who’s acting out of sorts.”

“Which, currently, is Boleyn,” Parr points out. “And Aragon, but she’s usually asleep at this time. Boleyn’s awake literally hours ahead of schedule.”

“I don’t think that’s overly conclusive,” Jane muses, getting the eggs onto a plate. “But I’ll keep an eye on everyone…” she looks Parr over. “You included, dear.”

“Makes sense,” Parr replies with a shrug. “And we don’t know if this thing can actually re-inhabit someone it’s already taken previously, so… neither you nor Katherine are off any lists.”

“Wonderful,” Jane replied sarcastically. “We really need to figure out how to get this away from us. Once and for all-”

“The man.”

They look over to find Katherine standing in the doorway. Cleves and Boleyn are still in the living room.

“What’s that, dear?” Jane asks, putting down the spatula. 

“The man, from the darkness,” Katherine says. “He… I think, if we get rid of him, we get rid of the Dark. Then we’re free.”

“What did this man look like?” Parr asks gently.

Katherine frowns, trying to think it over.

“I… I don’t remember. But he was familiar. I remember that much.” She sighs. “I’m sorry, I’m not very good at this, am I?”

“You’ve been through a lot, Kat,” Parr replies. “It’s alright. Just keep mulling it over. It could be anyone at this point.”

Katherine nods, giving them a soft smile, before Boleyn and Cleves enter the room. Aragon, too, a moment later.

“I smelled food,” Aragon says as she enters, “and figured you lot wouldn’t think to leave me any.”

“You’re probably right,” Boleyn quips. “First come, first served, after all.” Boleyn winks at her and Aragon just rolls her eyes fondly.

“Alright, you two,” Jane says. “Come on, we’ve got a show tonight. Everyone eat up.”

They descend into the chaos that is mornings with the Queens easily enough, and for the moment everything is calm.

In Aragon’s room, on the dresser, the cross once again is surrounded by smoke.


End file.
